Constitutional Protections of Judicial Independence

1. Constitutional Protections of Judicial Independence • Tenure during good behavior • No reductions in salary • Removal only for “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

2. The Elected Branches and the Judiciary • President: Appoints judges, with advice and consent of the Senate • Congress: – Establishes lower courts – Determines the size of the Supreme Court – Determines much of the jurisdiction of the federal courts Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

3. Constitutional Debates: The Federalists • Courts enforce the will of the people embodied in the Constitution • Judicial independence protects minority rights • Courts have no coercive power Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

4. Constitutional Debates: The Anti-Federalists • Federal courts would have unprecedented independence • Impeachment the only means of removing judges • Courts would have control over Congress Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

5. Courts and the Rise of Political Parties: Federalists • Prosecution of administration critics • Federal judges strictly enforced the Sedition Act • New courts diminished states’ authority Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

6. Courts and the Rise of Political Parties: Republicans • Abolished the circuit courts and new judgeships • Impeached judges accused of partisanship • Asserted congressional control over courts Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

7. Critics of Federal Judicial Authority • Jefferson: Fixed terms for judges • Calls to limit federal review of state court decisions • Defense of state jurisdiction over many cases Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

8. Reconstruction and the Federal Courts • Fears of a pro-Southern Supreme Court • Limiting jurisdiction over congressional acts • Reliance on courts to establish federal authority Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

9. The Courts in an Industrial Economy • Court injunctions against strikers • Court protection of private economic rights • Supreme Court rejection of economic regulation Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

10. Popular Reform Proposals • Election of judges • Limited terms of office • “Jurisdiction stripping” • Limits on judicial review Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

11. FDR’s “Court-Packing” Plan • Alleged court delays resulting from elderly judges • Need for judges with “modern” experience • Authority to add new judges to all federal courts Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

12. The Defense of the Judiciary • “Invasion of judicial power” • Democratic opposition to Roosevelt • Progressives feared executive power grab • Popular opposition to the plan Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

13. Persistence of Attacks on Judicial Independence • Proposed structural changes in response to specific decisions • Jurisdiction stripping • Challenges to judicial tenure Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

14. Institutional Independence • Judicial Conference of the U.S. Courts • Administrative, educational, and research support for the courts • Self regulation of the judiciary Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

15. Public Trust in the Judiciary • Taft: Judges’ responsibility to ensure public faith • Failure of attempts to limit judicial independence • Resistance to wholesale reorganization of the courts Judicial Independence. Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center